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Clergy Abuse Case Reflects Simmering Scrutiny of Pa. Grand Jury System

By Angela Couloumbis and Liz Navratil
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
August 5, 2018

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2018/08/05/Clergy-abuse-scrutiny-Pennsylvania-grand-jury-system-catholic-diocese-Pittsburgh-Philadelphia-Greensburg/stories/201808030172

In the spring of 2017, a lawyer representing two Catholic dioceses targeted in a statewide investigation of clergy sex abuse leveled a legal challenge to the grand jury process in Pennsylvania.

The lawyer, Matt Haverstick, questioned a grand jury procedure that prevented attorneys for witnesses from discussing testimony with each other and coordinating strategy. The judge supervising the grand jury in the case rejected the request, noting the rule was designed to preserve evidence and prevent witness tampering.

Weeks later, the state Supreme Court empaneled a new task force to review the scope and powers of Pennsylvania grand juries. The panel members and court officials won’t discuss details of its meetings or progress, but two of its areas of focus — examining gag orders and swearing attorneys to secrecy – paralleled Mr. Haverstick’s arguments.

And in October, a veteran state senator from Montgomery County began pushing for legislation to address “the secrecy of grand juries, the role of the supervising judge, the rights of witnesses, and the rights of the person being investigated.”

 

 

 

 

 




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